The Burn
by jamdragon9
Summary: Erec's friends are in trouble...again...and it's up to Erec to save them. They survive uninjured...except for one.


The Ledge ended in a waterfall. A boy sat on that very ledge. This, however, was no ordinary boy. It was dusk and slightly dark, but if you looked closely you would see something protruding from his backside. It appeared to be a tail. It was wrapped somewhat around his legs as he sat. Wings had sprouted from his back. They were resting, folded. The boy was leaning forward with his arms placed upon his knees. He sat hunched.

Erec Rex had just had a fight. His enemy, Thatanos Baskania, had trapped Jam, Bethany and King Piter. Erec barely got himself out, let alone his friends. The fight had been hard. After struggling with the lock of the cage that bore his friends, Baskania discovered him. Erec then transformed into his dragon form and picked the lock with his claws. He quickly took the lock off and snapped it. All of this was happening as Baskania was shooting multiple things at him including fire rings and deadly black smoke. Some of that smoke had hit Jam on the way out and had given him a third-degree burn on his left side. The King had helped him limp to the safety of the dragon Erec had called outside. Erec had to keep fighting Baskania so he wouldn't try to hurt his friends anymore.

Erec barely had enough strength left when his cloudy thoughts told him to fly. He happily obliged. Baskania looked out after the boy who was now flying over the water that surrounded Baskania's fortress. Erec heard him scream in rage. Surprisingly, Erec's only injury was major fatigue after the whole ordeal. Bethany suffered a few scrapes from the window and the King was sporting some scratches from the scales of the dragon that were rubbing against his legs. Jam had it the worst.

From what the King had told Erec, Jam had fallen while scrambling through the window to the dragon outside. It had just barely caught him, but it had little knowledge of his injury. It grabbed him on his left side, causing the butler to scream in agony. The trek home hadn't been much better. Jam was resting on King Piter's shoulder, sporting a creepy thousand-yard-stare. His left side was burnt lobster red and bleeding slightly. His clothes had been burnt off, as well. His arm and face got it the worst. Erec had visited him to see how he was doing when he returned home. Jam was unconscious. Erec was surprised at the carnage.

He hadn't thought it was that bad, but looking at Jam he realized how wrong he had been. The burning had gotten most of his arm, which was bandaged up now, and the left side of his face, stopping right where his left eye started. Any farther and he could have lost his sight.

Erec thought about the day now. He could hardly remember why they had been caught. All he remembered was walking through Otherness with them, a huge black dragon and then fighting Baskania. Erec slowly turned back into his human form. He figured that his cloudy thoughts had determined it safe now. He looked up at the moon rising above the horizon.

"Thank you, Erec," said a voice behind him. Erec turned.

He saw his friends walking up to him. Bethany and the King were, anyway. Jam still needed help getting around, which wasn't surprising.

"Thank you for saving us," said Bethany, walking up and kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank my cloudy thoughts," he replied.

"Well you can relay the message to them yourself."

"We would still be there if it wasn't for you," continued the King.

"Guys," interrupted Erec. "It was nothing. "If you guys are in trouble I'm going to save you."

Jam unwrapped him arm from the King's shoulders, for that's what had been stabilizing his left side as he walked. He took a tentative step forward with his good leg. Erec got up and went to him as he took another step and crumpled on the ground with a small cry. Erec lifted him up and hugged him as gently as he could.

"Thank you, sir," said Jam, arms still enclosed around Erec for stability.

"For what? I think Bethany and King Piter have thanked me for everything already."

"I want to thank you again," continued Jam, pushing himself away slightly but not enough to have no support from Erec's body. "...for saving my life."

"You were unconscious the last time I saw you."

Jam went silent. "Yes," he said after a few moments. "But while I was, sir, I saw my mum again. She told me that if you hadn't gotten there when you did, Baskania would've done away with all of us one by one, starting with me. The burn is nothing compared to what could have been done."

Erec led him to the spot where he had been sitting before and helped Jam to sit down next to him on Erec's right side. Bethany sat on his other side and the King sat on the other side of Jam. Erec got as comfortable as you could get while sitting on a rock but noticed that his arm was touching something unfamiliar. It didn't feel right and he felt it on his right side. Erec leaned toward that side , trying to figure out what it was that his arm was touching. It was dark outside now so it was hard to tell. As he looked closer, he saw Jam's face register a great amount of pain.

"Stupid question," he said, looking up."You OK?"

Jam looked down to his left side. Erec looked too and saw that the left side of Jam's clothing was still gone. His elbow, he realized, had been jabbing Jam accidentally on the raw skin that covered his ribcage.

"Jam! I'm so sorry!"

Jam put his right hand on Erec's shoulder. "It's OK now. I'll be fine after a few days of rest, I'm sure."

"Then take those days off," said the King. When Jam started to protest he added, "and I'm not going to let you say no." Jam closed his mouth. Erec laughed quietly. They all sat there after that, staring at the moon.

After a while, Bethany said, "Well this is pretty cheesy." They all laughed.

"But it's nice," replied Erec.

He heard a muffled agreement coming from his right. Jam was almost asleep. He could tell from the look on his face and the fact that his eyelids were slowly closing. Erec lay down behind him, sideways and on his back, and guided Jam's head to his stomach. He heard Jam start to gently snore right afterward. "G'night, old pal."

Bethany and the King lay down, too. Although Erec was tired, he refused to sleep. He figured he would sleep in the morning. Tonight he would keep watch. He looked down at Jam's head on his stomach. Jam had shuffled a little in his sleep and his face was turned toward Erec. Aside from the fact that his face was burnt, he looked peaceful and content as he slept. Erec smiled and realized how lucky he was. He turned back to the sky. As he looked, he saw a dragon figure cross the moon.

"Thank you," he sighed.


End file.
